Mind the Gap…. Whodunnit?

Before the release of issue #2 of Jim McCann, Rodin Esquejo and Sonia Oback’s Image series Mind the Gap, let’s take a look back over the forty-six page first issue, and try to establish who dun nit.

This is the story of an attempted murder, in which the victim – Elle – is beaten round the head and left in a coma. While her friends and family all seem to be grieving, and her doctors allegedly try to help her out of this state, she floats above herself and watches everything as it happens. She’s apparently going to be wandering around as the series progressed, floating around from place to place in order to work out which one of the characters attacked her, and why.

So it’s a murder mystery book, then! And in the back material, McCann states that it was a character who was named in issue #1 who did the deed. With that in mind, let’s go take a look through the story and round up the possible culprits…

1: Elle.

Our main character, who starts the issue off just prior/during the attack, calling her best friend Jo, only to groan in pain before the call cuts out. We don’t see her for this, so have no idea what the context was. Did she actually make this call? Jo seemed to recognise the voice, but it could’ve been set-up. The first time we actually see Jo is when she’s unconscious, and then we only get to see her character once she drifts out of her body, and starts piecing together what’s just happened to her. It’s unlikely she’s the one who knocked herself into a coma, but we won’t rule anything out yet.

2: Jo – best friend

McCann says that Jo has an alibi, merely because she’s the one who picks up the call at the time Elle is being attacked – and has clearly just woken up. Apparently this makes her one of two characters who are not going to be revealed as the attacker. BUT WHY SHOULD WE TRUST YOU JIM. Jo could have called somebody else and told them to commit the attack, and could be hiding any one of a number of secrets. Sure, her being the villain would mean she’s doing a hell of a job with her acting in this issue, but that’s what villains are all about!

3: Dane – Boyfriend

Well, it seems like he’s her boyfriend, although he makes a hint to the fact that he and Elle have been fighting prior to the attack. What were they fighting about? Is this the reason why Elle’s family are noticeably hostile towards him? At the start of the issue he’s in his flat and taking off his coat before Jo calls him and worries about Elle. Where has he just been in the rain? Did he attack his girlfriend?

4: Min – mother

The other character McCann says has a tight alibi is Elle’s mother, who seems incredibly distant to everyone around her. She seems to dislike her daughter and son, and have no interest in her husband whatsoever. She’s rather unlikeable, which in my mind suggests she’s probably innocent. But you never know.

5: Edward – father

Devoted father? It appears that way at the moment, and his reaction to the news about Elle seems genuine. But…. He is BY THE STATION when he heads the news! What was he doing so close to the scene of the crime?

6: Edward Jr – brother

Another self-absorbed character here, who was shopping at the time of the attack. Or was he? There’s clearly a coat hanging out of his bag of ‘shopping’, and he could well be hiding his disguise/weapon in there. He is noticeably unhappy with Dane’s presence in the hospital, but also overhears a suspicious conversation between two of the Doctors. What’s his agenda?

7: Dr Geller

Initially called to assess the unconscious Elle, Dr Gellar is pushed aside by one of her peers, who takes over responsibility for Elle’s care. Irritated, she starts to look closer into Elle’s medical history to work out why the rest of the hospital staff are behaving so strangely with this case. She ends the issue by being possibly taken hostage by a strange woman with a gun, and seems to be caught up in a conspiracy over her head. Unless that’s just what McCann wants us to think…?

8: Dr Hammond

A pompous ass, on the surface, whose main motivation appears to be keeping favour with Elle’s rich parents. Other members of the staff seem to be scared of him, though? He certainly seems to have a history with several of the other characters, and seems generally creepy.

9: Harold – Psychiatrist (?)

We don’t know what’s going on by the time Harold shows up. He gets a phonecall telling him about Elle’s attack, and immediately rushes out the house with a mysterious briefcase, to meet up with somebody. He’s going into a trap, and a hooded ‘agent’ sets him up for a car crash, before taking the briefcase and wandering off. This person talks on their phone to somebody called ‘Harry’ which appears to be the name of whoever coordinated the initial attack on Elle. Who is Harry? Erm… well, Harold would’ve been my first guess, if he weren’t unconscious in a car wreck at the time of the call.

10: Miles – Assistant

Harold’s assistant. Has glasses. We don’t spend much time with him yet.

11: Megan – Evil Nurse

Megan appears to be in the palm of Dr Hammond’s hand. Perhaps literally, by which I mean she might be sexually involved with him? I don’t like her very much, and she seems very protective of Hammond.

12: Louise

The person who calls Harold about Elle’s situation.

13: Bobby

Finally, and I think this rounds up all the characters who are suspects, we have Bobby. He meets Elle while she’s astrally projecting all over the place, and calms her down, introduces her to life in your subconscious. He seems like he’s friendly, and going to take the role of a guide for her. But what if he’s part of a greater plan to trick Elle into revealing something she knows? This is… admittedly a long shot, but you have to remember that YOU SHOULD NEVER TRUST JIM MCCANN

I’ll come back just before issue #3 comes out, you guys. We’ll see what we’ve learned in the meantime, and what it suggests about our thirteen possible culprits. Thoughts?